Pooped Pup

Wow! I never thought I'd see the day where Daisy was too pooped to play. We took her to see the kids on Saturday and while JF and J were doing a softball catch and hit session for JF to get herself prepared for a company picnic softball game, Daisy and I played on the playground with the kids. Actually, I spent the time playing with the kids and Daisy just ran and ran and ran through all the grassy fields and the wood chips covering the ground where the playground equipment is and across the tarmac filing her nails as she ran. She did stop to poop on the third base line which J had to bag up so no kids ended up with poop feet, but that's about it. We were there well over an hour and she didn't crash until I sat down with the kids for a drink, then Daisy crashed at my side and sprawled out trying to get some coolness from the grass. I gave her water in the frisbee R and I had been using and she lapped that up in two seconds. Today, she is lazing around the house, still following me if I move from floor to floor, but she flops herself down as soon as she determines I am staying on that level for a while. She is one tired dog! I'm so glad! I guess I should do that more often. I even bought a new basket for all her toys, gathered all the toys, put them in the basket and showed it to her. She looked, stuck her nose in to sniff several toys, and then lay down next to it to go back to sleep. No playing today--she's too pooped!

Chicken

Okay, so I'm a chicken! I wanted to go to the MFA with M but I thought maybe it would be better if I were the one driving. Yeah, she's more familiar with the streets of Boston than me, but she DID fail her driver's license eye exam the last two times and only gets a license renewed because her opthalmologist writes a letter to the DMV so she can continue to drive. She won't drive at night (thank God) but continues to drive otherwise. Yes, she's as careful as she can be about her driving, but when she tells me from across the living room, " I can't see you but I do see a shadow moving in front of the mirror," I figure it's safer for all involved (and innocent bystanders) if I am the one driving while she reads directions to me. The last time I let her be the driver when we went into Boston, she almost scraped along the Jersey barriers on the highway down there and ran over a curb taking a right turn while in Boston. I almost pooped my pants, thinking I was a goner that day! The worst part was, she had no idea that she came so close to making hamburger out of us. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I do want to live a good long life, so I just told her that I was in love with my Saab and I really enjoyed driving it so I would drive and she could navigate. M has a new car too, but she fell for that excuse this time. I dread when the time comes that I have to tell her how scared I am of her driving. It will hurt her feelings terribly. Last night (still light out) she drove us to the nearby restaurant for dinner and I thought she did fairly well on a very familiar route (5 minutes from her place), except that she didn't see this HUGE pot hole right in front of us that she could have avoided by a mile had she been able to identify it. Wham! Into the pothole with her brand new car. I tried to warn her when I realized she was headed for it, but she bulldozed right toward it and all I could do was hold on tight! It was teeth rattling. She said she only saw a dark spot and thought maybe it was a puddle. I know she's only 63 and she still needs to earn a living, but I'm not so sure that loophole of a doctor writing a note to renew your license is such a good idea. How many more Ms are there out there doing the same kind of driving? I don't want to be around to see anything bad happen because they really can't see well enough to react quickly to avoid accidents. Yikes! I wonder if that's how that 83 year old man who ran into me and then into my car got his license renewed?

Was It Something I Said??

I knew J was coming in late, because of a doctor's appointment. But P was due in at 8:00, so no problem. Then C at 8:30 and K and T at 9:00...no sweat. While I'm waiting, a deer shows up on our hillside, right near the big forsythia bush. It's a boy with little antlers, about a year old. He's grazing quite contentedly. There's no one to share this with, so I call DB to see if she can see him from her office. She comes in to our office to observe. He stays for a few minutes, circling around so we can view him from all angles. How cute! 8:00 comes and goes; no P. 8:30 comes and goes; no P OR C...what;s going on??? Is someone or something highjacking my co-workers? Phones were steady and I needed to pee desperately. Surely someone knows where they are. I called D in Kingston...is C there? Did we screw up and think she was coming in here today? No C. I called JD...I think I'm looking at the right, most recent updated schedule.... where are my work buddies? JD doesn't know ...says they should both be here....WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE?? Finally T shows up a couple minutes before 9....okay, no conspiracy. I run for the bathroom after expressing how happy I am to see her. When I come out DB is trying to explain why C is not here. One of her schedules says she is due in at 10...the other, the one I looked at, says she's here at 8:30. Geez, no wonder we're all confused! Poor P...she had an old schedule up at home and she really thought she was due in at 9:30...and showed up then. Unfortunately, now she has to stay until 6, the one early day she was scheduled for this week and she missed it. I really hope tomorrow is back to normal, whatever normal is these days.

Ahhh! Relief!

Getting the haircut, manicure and pedicure today was the best thing I've done for myself in a long time! My hair is cut short, shorter than its been the entire 11 years I've lived in NH, but not as short as I have had it in the past. The stylist kept asking if I was sure I wanted to go this short and I said yes, yes, yes. I have happy hands, happy feet and now a very happy head!! :) I don't care if no one else likes it, it makes me happy and that's what I set out to do. I love my new stylist, S and will be seeing her again. After all, we have a "relationship" now. She loved up my feet and hands today and that head massage included with the cut is heavenly. I have to say, Xian you're right. Supercuts is like fast food. Salon 72 was a modern day Eden.

Another haircut!

I've HAD it!! I can't stand my hair any more. I dyed it too dark. There's too much of it, and it's too hot; I need a change and I think I'm going for a medium-short cut, one that covers those crazy cowlicks at the nape of my neck but is shorter in front so I don't have so much heaviness on the top of my head making me feel weighed down like an old drudge. I'm also going to get (maybe) a manicure and pedicure to pamper myself--haven't pampered in a long, long time. I'm trying Salon 72; I believe it's the one Xian went to and she looks so mahvelous dahling, not that she didn't before but now she looks even hotter. I don't have any illusions that I will look that good, but it will definitely life my spirits and I need that desperately right now. Wish me luck!

Good holiday weekend

You couldn't have asked for better weather! It was a beautiful weekend to spend outdoors. The kids were visited on Sunday. The pool had just been filled, water too cold to go in, but the air was so comfortable we really didn't need the pool to enjoy the day. We had fun outdoors playing frisbee, blowing giant bubbles ALL over the place and playing card games on the picnic table. Of course, playing a card game with K is like nothing you would recognize. She makes up rules as she goes along and inevitably, she ends up with all the cards and declares herself the winner....to top that off, she puts one hand on her belly, the other behind her back and starts bowing and saying, "Thank you, thank you!" Sheesh! She wants kudos for everything she does. R has fantastic hand/eye coordination when it comes to PS2 action games and PC games but I have to say, as much as I love that young boy, he can't catch a frisbee with any finesse. I hope he practices a lot and gets better. J had to pay him a dollar if he caught a frisbee toss. He finally did, and sweetie that he is, he immediately gave it to his sister---awwww! Yes, we had our lobster dinner and it was a little bit of heaven, messy and buttery, (incredibly expensive - thank you red tide) but oh so delicious! And strawberry shortcake for dessert so we waddled our way through the rest of the evening. Our complex had their own fireworks display in the tennis courts so we didn't have to go far for celebrating. We didn't make it to Boston for the Pops and fireworks but we did watch them on TV; not the same, but better than missing it entirely. I think Boston does the best job of celebrating. When we have actually been there in person, it is exciting and fun and doesn't feel threatening at all. Hampton Beach fireworks' crowd mostly feels scary, though the fireworks are nice.

July 4 hikers 

Of COURSE he's responsible!

I get told I am a nag and acting like his mother...hmmmph! Well, how responsible is he behaving when he leaves the gas grill on overnight, for 12 hours?? And leaves the latch open on the back gate and the back door unlocked all night? Is this supposed to make me feel safe and protected? Like my man is taking good care to see that I am safe? Nope! It's more like a forgetful child who needs to be reminded of the same things day in and day out and then complains. Nag? I think not! More like, okay if you won't be careful on your own, I'm gonna have to remind you that you are now an adult male and supposed to have responsibilities in your life now. Don't let me go to bed thinking I'm going to be sleeping soundly in a safe, secure setting...don't let me think the car is being taken care of correctly because you are the one driving that car.....3000 mile oil changes ARE a necessity. Cleaning, vacuuming, washing the car...those are all important too. I have my own car to think about--I don't need to add yours to my list of things to deal with. Don't tell me you will bring home milk and then forget 9 times out of 10 that you said you'd do that. And on and on and on--It really sucks being the only responsible adult in a relationship...so really, start acting like an adult so I can get on with my own shit.